Large electric vehicle systems such as LHD (Load, Haul, Dump) machines, underground mining vehicles, off-road or off-highway electric vehicles include one or more inverter systems housed within an enclosure. Due to the operation environment of the electric vehicle systems, the enclosure typically conforms to strict standards for robustness, which may include explosion proof certification, limiting the ability to modify the shape, size, and/or composition of the enclosure. The inverter systems provide electric power to various components of the large electric vehicles such as pump motors (e.g., hydraulic pumps), traction motors, and/or the like. During operation of the electric vehicle system, the inverter systems produce a significant amount of heat that is dissipated by the enclosure.
Conventionally, the enclosure includes a heat exchanger mounted to one wall of the enclosure and the inverter system for passive temperature control of the inverter system. For example, heat generated by the inverter system is absorbed by the heat exchanger. The heat is transferred to the wall of the enclosure by the heat exchanger and dissipated by convection into the ambient environment. However, due to the poor thermal conductivity of the enclosure, the dissipation of the heat is limited only to the wall of the enclosure, specifically, the wall in contact with the heat exchanger. This limitation reduces the cooling efficiency of the enclosure, which leads to over-temperatures of the inverter system. When over-temperatures occur, the inverter system is de-rated to generate less heat in order to bring down the internal temperature of the enclosure or inverter system. The de-rating of the inverter system limits the operation of the inverter system resulting in less productive work from the vehicle.
Alternative conventional enclosures of electric vehicle systems use an internal liquid cooling system, which forces circulation of a cooling liquid within the enclosure. However, liquid cooling systems require higher system overhead such as maintenance to prevent leakage, additional components within the enclosure for liquid flow control and delivery, and/or the like. Thus, a method and/or system is need for a more efficient way to cool the inverter system that does not modify a shape, size, and/or the like of the enclosure.